ANALYSIS

BEST BET: RACE 5, STRONG CURRENT

FIRST RACE

AIRCRAFT CARRIER, second in two of three starts this year, is the class of this maiden $75,000 claimer on the drop from the straight maiden ranks; a close fourth on this course last year and owns by far the highest Beyers; also figures to get a good trip racing close to what should be a modest pace. ETTALUSIVE is another straight maiden dropper, a filly with two thirds from four turf starts; even a recent fourth at Indiana Grand was respectable, with her only losing third by a head and with the runner-up coming back to win. LOVEMELIKEYOUDO finished 5 3/4 lengths behind the top choice when they met last out at Ellis Park July 29, but that was her first start since last fall and was likely a race she needed. She ought to improve upon that sixth-place finish.

SECOND RACE

6-1 shot HOLLYWOOD TALENT is mediocre on dirt but a consistent performer on synthetic and turf tracks, going 10-3-4-0 on synthetic and 3-2-0-0 on turf. One of those grass wins came in an allowance over this course way back in 2014. CURLINO looks like he might have issues, judging by some notable drops lately and no published works since being claimed over a month ago, but he has been an honest sort and this horse ran well for Asmussen during a prior stint with him; capable of challenging on the rise off the claim from $5,000 into this starter. POLITICAL JUSTICE rattled off three straight on the main track at Ellis Park, including an optional claimer, but now goes from his preferred surface on dirt, on which he is 16 for 63, to turf, where he has been fourth, sixth, and twice seventh in four starts.

THIRD RACE

POCKET BOOK ran promisingly on grass first out at Gulfstream with a close second before disappointing when pressing a hot pace in a Saratoga turf race and fading to sixth; expecting her to rebound. Trainer Wesley Ward has won at a 21% rate at Kentucky Downs over the past 5 years and has a long history of having success with fillies against the boys, particularly with juveniles. DREAMING OF J C and SOUPER SMART are first timers that are unveiled for winner connections and both have fired bullets leading up to their debuts. ‘DREAMING has the grassy pedigree of the two, while ‘SOUPER was a flashy sales horse, fetching $325,000 at auction earlier this year.

FOURTH RACE

NEVER GROW OLD hasn’t yet run closer than sixth on the grass in three starts, but one race came on yielding ground, and the other two against more talented allowance foes in New York; likely better than her form appears at first glance. Late-running WICKED LICK failed to challenge when sixth in a slow-paced Indiana Oaks, running sixth, but gets class relief here; just 1 for 11 but take note that five of her races have come in stakes; campaigned as a dirt horse since November but began her career with some promising grass races. COCO CHANNEL jumped up with first Lasix with a runner-up finish at Ellis Park last out, running a career-best 77 Beyer; bred for this 1 5/16-mile distance but has performed like more a miler to this point.

FIFTH RACE

STRONG CURRENT ran competitively to be fourth in a Saratoga maiden turf race when routing despite being keen early, which likely compromised her finish; likely better suited to this cutback in distance to 6 1/2 furlongs. ONE THIRTY NINE performed well in her only start to rally for third in a 5 1/2-furlong race after firing bullets at Churchill Downs; improvement likely. NETAS also rallied to be third in her debut, though she is now

cut back from a mile to 6 1/2 furlongs after lacking speed when racing at Gulfstream.

SIXTH RACE

SENSITIVE couldn’t keep up with graded stakes horses last out in the Pucker Up, finishing seventh, but had won an allowance previously; starts for a winning barn and lands Florent Geroux, the leading rider at Kentucky Downs the past two years. FROZEN HANNAH is speedy and consistent and has Maker and Jose Ortiz in his corner. Maker was the leading trainer here the past two years, and Ortiz is tops in the country this year in earnings. LILLY’S DREAM raced much closer to the pace than usual last out on the stretch out to 1 1/2 miles and weakened to fifth at Saratoga but had previously just missed in an allowance at Churchill; was stakes placed in one race on this course here in 2015.

SEVENTH RACE

KITTY KAT KATE returns to a turf sprint after coming up empty when seventh as the favorite in a Saratoga maiden route that was won by next-out stakes winner Orbolution; had previously been a close fifth in a turf sprint at Belmont; bullet work at Keeneland leading into this. AMERICAN FROLIC twice ran well in a pair of turf sprints a Gulfstream Park in as many attempts this summer; both races earned her so-so Beyers for close finishes (58, 53). HEAVENLY LOVE debuted with a third on dirt against the promising Florida Fuego; training quickly on the Churchill main track leading into her first race on turf.

EIGHTH RACE

PRINCESS PRINCESS ended up second as the heavy favorite in a race at Ellis Park but has good form overall within the allowance ranks and a winning trainer/jockey combo; second in a stakes race in her one attempt at this 6 1/2-furlong distance. SAMEEHA came up a little empty in a pair of stakes this summer when routing, but is now back in an allowance and appears tactical enough

SCRATCH BOARD

Here are the horses entered today who have been scratched in the last 45 days and have not raced since the scratch. Definitions: Off the turf: Turf race switched to main track. Trainer: Any scratch made by a trainer, including ones for weather, medical issues, a decision not to run in a stakes race, a horse entered back the next racing day, or a conditional entry (i.e., main track only for a turf race). Vet: Injury or illness. Steward: Administrative issues like medication and eligibility. to adapt to this long turf sprint. TRIPLE CHELSEA won a race like this one last year on this course and gets to run back against similar by racing for a $62,500 tag; has held her own in stakes when sprinting on the turf and even a recent third going a mile at Arlington wasn’t bad considering it came at a distance a little beyond her best.

NINTH RACE

Quite a nice field in the Old Friends considering this race is restricted to horses that haven’t won

TRACK INFORMATION

5629 Nashville Road PO Box 405, Franklin, KY 42134 Phone: (270) 586-7778 Turf course: 1 5/16 miles European turf course

TAKEOUT INFORMATION ■ Win, place and show: 16% ■ Exacta: 18.25% ■ Pick Five: 14% ■ All other exotic wagering: 19% a stake in 2017...OSCAR NOMINATED is dropped in class after racing in three consecutive Grade 1s, including the Arlington Million most recently, a race in which he was eighth; romped in a stakes over this course last fall. SIR DUDLEY DIGGES won the Queen’s Plate last year and rattled off a couple allowance wins at Churchill in the spring before an eighth in the Arlington Handicap. THATCHER

STREET won the Grade 3 River City at Churchill in his final start of 2016, but hasn’t been quite as sharp in 2017; off the board in his last two races, though both were in graded stakes. GIO’S CALLING

TENTH RACE

FREEDOM ran decently at Saratoga to be sixth after making a middle move - a solid effort considering that she hadn’t been out in 2017; was twice second in maiden races in Kentucky last fall before the layoff. RED DANE hit the brakes in his latest at Saratoga, fading to seventh; that race had followed three consecutive thirds on grass in shorter races. MAGICAL SKY adds blinkers after a lackluster fifth August 20 at Saratoga, which had followed a third there in July and a second at Gulfstream in June.